


Skin Deep

by DashFlintceschi



Series: Illnesses/Disabilities Alphabet Challenge [22]
Category: You Me At Six
Genre: Josh has a skin condition, Josh works in a bookshop, M/M, Max works in a call centre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-02-06 20:43:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1871811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DashFlintceschi/pseuds/DashFlintceschi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh is self-conscious about a skin condition. Max just wants to know why Josh would wear a scarf in July.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Skin Deep

**Author's Note:**

> V is for Vitiligo. Before any Americans start going on about 23 degrees being cold, I'm British, You Me At Six are British, and we use Celsius, and considering what our weather is usually like, 23 degrees is ridiculously hot, so shush.

When Max meets Josh, he thinks he’s a little weird, but only because it’s the middle of the afternoon on a hot day in July, around 23 degrees, and Josh is wearing jeans, a big jumper, and a bloody scarf, of all things, while everyone else is wearing shorts and either a vest, or nothing on top, and they’re still struggling to deal with the heat. Josh is acting as though it’s quite cool, though, so Max thinks maybe he has something wrong with him that makes him feel the cold really bad.

When he’s hanging out with Dan later, he can’t hold his tongue.

“So, what the fuck is up with that friend of yours?” He asks, and Dan frowns.

“I don’t know, Josh has just… Always worn way too many layers. I think he has some kind of skin condition or something. One time, him and Matt were at an Incubus concert, and he actually passed out from the heat. Matt said Josh freaked the fuck out when he woke up and Matt was trying to get that scarf and his jumper off to cool him down. He reckons he saw weird white patches on Josh’s neck, but it was too dark for him to be sure. It seems to be a really touchy subject with him, so I’ve never asked,” he explains, and Max is too shocked to reply. He decides there and then that, no matter what Josh is hiding, he’s going to figure it out, and hopefully, talk Josh into letting him help him become comfortable with it.

The next time Max sees Josh is completely unplanned. He’s just left work at a call centre, and decides to wander into Starbucks and veg out there for a while before heading home. He orders tea, and when the barista hands it to him, he turns around to find somewhere to sit. He only scans the room for a few seconds before he spots Josh sitting by the window, scarf still securely in place, a different jumper from last time, but still with weird patterns all over it, covering his upper half.

Max wanders over and flumps down in the armchair across from Josh with a grin. Josh squints at him for a moment, obviously trying to remember him, then smiles.

“Dan’s mate. Max, right?” He checks, and Max nods. They sit in comfortable silence for a while, until Max clears his throat.

“What’s with the scarf? It’s roasting in here,” he asks, and Josh frowns and tenses.

“Why does it matter? If I want to wear a scarf, I’ll wear a scarf. It doesn’t impact on your life, so why do you care?” He asks defensively, and Max sees what Dan meant about it being a touchy subject.

“Alright, calm down. I was only curious, sorry,” Max replies, and Josh huffs.

“Sorry, it just bugs me when people demand to know why I live my life the way I want to,” he apologises, and Max holds up his hands.

“Woah, I didn’t demand anything. I meant for it to be a polite request for information, and I am really sorry if it sounded like a demand,” he insists, and Josh sighs.

“No, it didn’t sound like a demand, I’m just so used to people demanding, that I automatically assumed, sorry,” he corrects himself, and Max laughs.

“How about we just forget I asked, so we can stop apologising to each other every three seconds?” He proposes, and Josh laughs as he nods in agreement.

They talk for a while longer, until Max notices something strange.

“I thought Dan said you’re 23?” He asks, and Josh nods with a confused frown. “Then why is some of your hair going grey?” He continues, and Josh gets defensive again.

“Fuck sake, why do you have to pick at every tiny little thing? What’s wrong with just sitting here talking? You always have to find something, don’t you?” He snarls, jumping up and storming out, leaving Max stunned and wondering what the fuck just happened.

Max gets Josh’s phone number from Dan, but Josh refuses to answer his calls or texts. It takes a few days, but Max manages to wheedle Josh’s address from Dan. He heads straight over there, despite Dan warning him that there’s a good chance Josh won’t be there, since he usually spends as much time as possible at the bookshop that he co-owns with his dad, that’s been in his family for about five generations. When Max knocks on the door of Josh’s flat, Josh is obviously expecting someone else, as he simply shouts ‘come in’, without even checking who it is.

Max does as he’s told, and follows Josh’s voice to the bedroom.

“You always have to be early, don’t you? I mean, I’m not even… Dressed… Yet.” Josh trails off as he turns towards the door, wearing only a towel and a look of horror as Max finally sees what Josh has been hiding. Most of the skin on his arms, neck and torso is covered in white patches, some looking as though they’ve recently been scratched quite roughly.

“Are you alright? Does it hurt? It looks like it should hurt,” Max worries, and the look on Josh’s face softens slightly, as though he’s starting to realise that he’s not going to get the reaction he expected.

“It doesn’t hurt, it just itches sometimes,” he assures him, then sighs. “If you give me a couple of minutes to get dressed, I’ll explain properly,” he adds, and Max nods and backs out of the room. He fumbles around the kitchen, looking for everything he needs to make tea while he waits. He gets it eventually, and he’s just sitting the mugs down on the kitchen table when Josh appears, not wearing the jumper and scarf for once.

They get settled, and Max looks at Josh until he sighs in defeat.

“I have a skin condition called Vitiligo. Basically, my body doesn’t produce melanin properly, so I end up with big white blotchy bits. It can develop on the scalp, too, which is why you saw grey hairs the other day, and like I said earlier, it doesn’t hurt, just itches a bit sometimes. Anything you want to know that I didn’t cover?” He rattles off, and Max frowns.

“Why hide it? Why make yourself ridiculously uncomfortable by wearing massive jumpers in the middle of the summer, just so people won’t see?” He asks, and Josh sighs.

“Because people don’t react well to it. In fact, you’re the first person outside of my family that hasn’t freaked out. Anyway, even if I didn’t have a problem with people seeing it, I would still keep it covered in the summer. The more my skin’s exposed to sunlight, the worse the patches get,” he explains, and Max nods.

“Well, you never needed to worry about me freaking out, and I don’t think Matt or Dan will, either, I mean, it’s just a skin thing, like Eczema, or Psoriasis, what’s there to freak out about?” He demands, and Josh smiles as he places his hand over Max’s.

“I knew there was something special about you,” he comments softly, and Max returns his smile as he turns his hand over and links their fingers.

“Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you.”


End file.
